Time domain terahertz spectroscopy for investigating the dielectric relaxation dynamics of water in model membranes

We have investigated hydrated model membranes, formed by stacked bilayers of unsaturated lipids, by means of terahertz time-domain and infrared spectroscopy. Terahertz spectroscopy enables the investigation of water dynamics, owing to its sensitivity to dielectric relaxation processes associated with water reorientation. By controlling the number of water molecules per lipid molecule in the system, we elucidate how the interplay between the model membrane and water molecules results in different water dynamics. For decreasing hydration levels, we observe the appearance of new types of water dynamics: the collective bulklike dynamics become less pronounced, whereas an increased amount of both very slowly reorienting (i.e., irrotational) and very rapidly reorienting (i.e., fast) water molecules appear.